PA-07: Republican Patrick Meehan Harassed young staffer who did't return his affection

WASHINGTON — Representative Patrick Meehan, a Pennsylvania Republican who has taken a leading role in fighting sexual harassment in Congress, used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle his own misconduct complaint after a former aide accused him last year of making unwanted romantic overtures to her, according to several people familiar with the settlement.

A married father of three, Mr. Meehan, 62, had long expressed interest in the personal life of the aide, who was decades younger and had regarded the congressman as a father figure, according to three people who worked with the office and four others with whom she discussed her tenure there.

But after the woman became involved in a serious relationship with someone outside the office last year, Mr. Meehan professed his romantic desires for her — first in person, and then in a handwritten letter — and he grew hostile when she did not reciprocate, the people familiar with her time in the office said.

Life in the office became untenable, so she initiated the complaint process, started working from home and ultimately left the job. She later reached a confidential agreement with Mr. Meehan’s office that included a settlement for an undisclosed amount to be paid from Mr. Meehan’s congressional office fund.

Sexual misconduct accusations against powerful men across a range of industries in recent months have prompted a national conversation about gender dynamics in the workplace, and the inadequacy of support systems for victims. In Congress, several lawmakers have left office or announced their retirements in recent months over sexual harassment claims.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/politics/patrick-meehan-sexual-harassment.html

FBI opened inquiry into Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens

Washington (CNN)The FBI recently opened an inquiry into Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, two US officials told CNN, as he fights an allegation of blackmail and faces calls to resign just a year into his job.

While the FBI has not commented on the existence of any inquiry or formal investigation into Greitens, the St. Louis circuit attorney's office announced last week that it is investigating Greitens' conduct following an explosive story that forced the Republican governor to acknowledge having had an extramarital affair and confront an allegation of blackmail.

James Bennett, Greitens' lawyer, told CNN on Friday that the governor "has not been contacted at any time by the FBI, and we are not aware of any interest by the FBI in this personal matter that took place years ago." Bennett added that they are also not aware of any interest by the FBI in matters unrelated to the affair.

"It is the long-standing policy of the US Department of Justice that the FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation," an FBI spokeswoman told CNN.
The scope of the FBI inquiry or when it began was not immediately clear. The FBI will at times begin an inquiry as a preliminary step before deciding whether an investigation is warranted.

On Thursday, a 22-year-old man who said he volunteered to help with Greitens' transition team in December 2016 approached CNN to say he was interviewed by the FBI in November 2017.


http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/19/politics/missouri-governor-eric-greitens-fbi-inquiry/index.html

Tweet of the Day

No Deal. Senate will vote on House bill.

Hitting the Twitterverse.

Omarosa may have taped confidential White House discussions

Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman may have taped confidential West Wing conversations and fears being caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, sources told the Daily News on Thursday.

The former reality TV star’s official last day in the Trump administration is Saturday — despite the abrupt announcement of her departure last month — and her next step seems to be lawyering up.

The soon-to-be former assistant to President Trump and director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison has held exploratory meetings with several high profile attorneys for potential representation, a source told The News.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/omarosa-taped-confidential-white-house-discussions-article-1.3765147

Oakland Mayor Schaaf willing to be jailed for defending sanctuary city policies

OAKLAND, Calif. (BCN) - Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said today that reports that federal immigration officials are preparing for a major sweep of cities such as Oakland that have sanctuary policies are making many of the city's residents nervous.

"The level of fear and anxiety in this community is at unconscionable levels," Schaaf said.

Referring to President Donald Trump, Schaaf said, "It is no surprise that the bully in chief is continuing to try to intimidate our most vulnerable residents."

But she said, "We're very clear that our values are to protect all of our residents regardless of where we come from. We want to protect families, not tear them apart."

Schaaf said, "We are exercising our legal right to be a sanctuary city. The fact that the federal government is suggesting that it is actively retaliating against jurisdictions that are exercising their right to have sanctuary policies - that is what is illegal."

Sanctuary cities such as Oakland have policies that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.


http://www.ktvu.com/news/mayor-schaaf-willing-to-be-jailed-for-defending-sanctuary-city-policies

Fusion GPS Founder: I Heard Brexit Leader Farage Gave Data To Assange

Two foreign allies of President Donald Trump — the face of Brexit and founder of WikiLeaks — may have had multiple, previously undisclosed meetings during the 2016 presidential campaign. In November testimony to the House Intelligence Committee that was made public Thursday, Glenn Simpson, founder of private intelligence firm Fusion GPS, said he’d heard reports that Brexit leader Nigel Farage provided data to WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.

“I’ve been told and have not confirmed that Nigel Farage had additional trips to the Ecuadoran Embassy than the one that’s been in the papers and that he provided data to Julian Assange,” Simpson testified.

Simpson, whose firm assembled the so-called Trump-Russia dossier, added that the data came in the form of a thumb drive.

Farage is known to have made a trip to the embassy in March 2017 to meet with Assange, who has been accused of working with Russian hackers to release stolen emails and other material intended to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The former UKIP party leader, who campaigned on Trump’s behalf, was identified as a “person of interest” in the federal investigation into Russia’s election interference in a Guardian report published last summer.


https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/glen-simpson-testifies-nigel-farage-met-gave-data-assange

Report alleging ICE crackdown in Bay Area spreads fear, nervousness

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A published report has sparked fear in immigrant communities. The report says President Donald Trump is starting a broad crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

In January of last year, ICE agents looking for an undocumented immigrant in the Mission District mistakenly visited a pre-school run by the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center. The right address was next door.

Nevertheless, agents dressed for a raid, sparked fear and anger among immigration advocates.

"Our visit, we know was probably a means of intimidation, basically sending a message -- there's a new sheriff in town," said Executive Director of the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center Mario Paz.

A report in Tuesday's San Francisco Chronicle, attributed to a source, says U.S. immigration officials are now preparing for a "major sweep" in the city and in other areas of Northern California, "in which federal officers would look to arrest more than 1,500 undocumented people."


http://abc7news.com/politics/report-alleging-ice-crackdown-in-bay-area-spreads-fear-nervousness/2960500/

Report: Midterm Math Looks Similar to 2006

House Democrats, as we have been reporting now for months, have the wind firmly at their back this year. All signs are pointing to a better than 50-50 shot at taking control of the House, perhaps by a decent margin. Even so, we’ve also noted that Republicans have a built-in structural advantage — namely few swing seats to defend. Moreover, the conventional wisdom has held that the map has gotten much less favorable to Democrats in the House since 2006, thanks in large part to the fact that Republicans controlled the redistricting process in many significant battleground states in 2012, taking many formerly competitive seats off the table.

But, as Senate Leader Mitch McConnell warned everyone very early in the cycle, “don’t fall in love with the map.” In fact, when you look more closely at the kinds of districts Republicans are defending in 2018, they don’t look much different from those they had to defend in 2006. For example, there are about as many competitive GOP-held seats in play today in districts with a slight GOP lean (PVI of R+1 to R+5) (23) as there were right before the election in 2006 (22). And, while it’s true that there are few “low hanging fruit” type of districts for Democrats to pick-off (just 23 districts held by Republicans voted for Hillary Clinton), there weren’t many easy lay-ups in 2006, either. Back in 2006, Republicans held just 18 seats won by Democrat John Kerry in the previous presidential election. By the election of 2006, just 15 GOP-held seats (or 27 percent of the total number of GOP-held competitive districts), were in districts that had a slight Democratic lean (a PVI of Even to D+8). Today, of the 40 most competitive seats held by Republicans, 10 (or 25 percent), have a slight Democratic lean (Even to D+5).

In other words, it’s not that map has gotten that much worse for Democrats since 2006; the battleground itself has shifted. For example, in 2006, Indiana, Ohio and upstate New York accounted for 25 percent of the most competitive GOP held seats. This year, California, New Jersey and Texas account for 30 percent of the most competitive GOP seats. We’ve swapped upstate New York with Orange County, California and central Indiana for central New Jersey.

You will also notice that the plurality of seats won by Democrats in 2006 (40 percent) came not from Democratic-leaning seats, but from districts that had a slight GOP advantage. Another 23 percent of the seats Democrats won that year came from districts that had a PVI of R+6 or greater. If Democrats won the same percentage of seats from each category this November as Democrats did in 2006, they would net 22 seats — or two seats shy of the 24 they need to win the House. The challenge for Democrats today is to expand the playing field. Of the 26 GOP-held seats in Likely Republican, two have a Democratic PVI, nine have a PVI between R+1 and R+5 and 15 have a PVI of R+6 or greater. Winning just two of those 26 would get Democrats to the magic number of 24 seats.


https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/map-has-changed-math-remains-same

Porn Star Claimed She Spanked Trump

New York Magazine: “There are new details about the president’s alleged relationship with adult-film star Stormy Daniels. According to a report by Mother Jones, Daniels once claimed that the president made her spank him with an issue of Forbes magazine.”

“The information came from an email exchange between two campaign consultants who worked with Daniels back in 2009, when she was considering running for Senator of Louisiana (one of her potential campaign slogans was “Stormy Daniels: Screwing people honestly.”)”


https://politicalwire.com/2018/01/18/porn-star-says-spanked-trump/